Transformative Power of Christ: From Death to Life

 

Summary

In today's message, I emphasized the transformative power of Christ, which brings about a profound sense of marvel and wonder. This power is not just a historical account but a present reality that continues to astonish and change lives. The essence of Christianity is not merely about living a moral life or attending church services; it is about receiving new life from Christ, a life that radically changes one's entire being. This transformation is akin to passing from death to life, a change so profound that it leaves the individual and those around them in awe.

Throughout history, from the early church to the great revivals, the gospel has consistently demonstrated its power to transform the most unlikely individuals. This transformation is not dependent on one's background, intelligence, or natural disposition. It is a divine act, a miracle that only Christ can perform. When Christ imparts this life, it results in a new heart, a new nature, and a new governing disposition. The individual becomes a new creation, with old things passing away and all things becoming new.

This new life is mysterious and beyond human understanding because it is supernatural and divine. It is not something we can achieve through our efforts or understanding; it is a gift from Christ. The power to give life is entirely His, and He can bestow it upon anyone, regardless of their past or present condition. This is the hope and romance of the gospel: that Christ can give life to anyone who hears His voice and responds.

The evidence of this new life is seen in a changed perspective and desires. The things of the world that once captivated us lose their appeal, and we develop a longing for holiness, purity, and fellowship with God's people. We begin to understand and enjoy the Bible, and prayer becomes meaningful. This life is essential for fellowship with God and for entering heaven. Without it, we remain in darkness, unable to commune with the God who is light.

Key Takeaways:

1. The transformative power of Christ is a present reality that continues to astonish and change lives, not just a historical account. This power is about receiving new life from Christ, which radically changes one's entire being, akin to passing from death to life. [12:30]

2. The essence of Christianity is not about living a moral life or attending church services; it is about receiving new life from Christ. This transformation is a divine act, a miracle that only Christ can perform, resulting in a new heart and nature. [17:22]

3. This new life is mysterious and beyond human understanding because it is supernatural and divine. It is not something we can achieve through our efforts or understanding; it is a gift from Christ, who has the power to give life to anyone. [27:19]

4. The evidence of this new life is seen in a changed perspective and desires. The things of the world lose their appeal, and we develop a longing for holiness, purity, and fellowship with God's people. We begin to understand and enjoy the Bible, and prayer becomes meaningful. [42:00]

5. This life is essential for fellowship with God and for entering heaven. Without it, we remain in darkness, unable to commune with the God who is light. It is a gift that Christ can bestow upon anyone who hears His voice and responds. [46:44]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [09:32] - Marvel and Wonder of Christ's Work
- [10:44] - Transformation of the Hopeless
- [11:27] - Astonishment at Saul's Conversion
- [12:49] - Gospel's Impact Through History
- [14:12] - Marveling at Personal Transformation
- [16:07] - Misconceptions of Christianity
- [17:22] - True Christianity: Receiving New Life
- [19:46] - George Whitfield's Discovery
- [20:25] - Profound Change: Death to Life
- [23:19] - Receiving a New Heart and Nature
- [25:57] - Change in Governing Disposition
- [27:19] - Mystery and Miracle of New Life
- [30:24] - Christ's Power to Give Life
- [39:22] - Life Open to Everyone
- [46:44] - Essential for Fellowship with God

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. John 5:24-25 - "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live."
2. 2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
3. Ezekiel 36:26 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

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Observation Questions:

1. What does Jesus mean when He says that those who hear His voice will "cross over from death to life" in John 5:24-25?
2. How does the sermon describe the transformation of individuals who receive new life from Christ? [12:30]
3. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, what happens to someone who is in Christ?
4. In Ezekiel 36:26, what is the significance of God giving a "new heart" and a "new spirit"?

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the sermon illustrate the concept of moving from death to life, and why is this transformation described as miraculous? [27:19]
2. What does it mean to be a "new creation" in Christ, and how does this relate to the idea of old things passing away? [21:57]
3. Why is the transformation described in the sermon considered beyond human understanding, and how does this relate to the divine nature of the change? [27:19]
4. How does the sermon explain the role of Christ in imparting new life, and why is this considered a gift rather than something we can achieve on our own? [30:24]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own life. Can you identify a moment when you felt a profound change in your spiritual journey, similar to the transformation described in the sermon? How did it impact your perspective and desires? [42:00]
2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of marveling at one's own transformation. How can you cultivate a sense of wonder and gratitude for the changes Christ has made in your life? [14:47]
3. In what ways have your desires and interests shifted since becoming a Christian? Are there specific worldly things that have lost their appeal to you? [44:02]
4. How can you actively seek to develop a longing for holiness, purity, and fellowship with God's people in your daily life? [44:20]
5. The sermon mentions the importance of understanding and enjoying the Bible. What steps can you take to deepen your engagement with Scripture and make it more meaningful in your life? [42:45]
6. Consider your prayer life. How has it changed since you received new life in Christ, and what can you do to make prayer more meaningful and consistent? [43:16]
7. How can you share the transformative power of Christ with others, especially those who may feel hopeless or beyond change? [39:22]

Devotional

Day 1: The Present Reality of Christ's Transformative Power
The transformative power of Christ is not confined to the pages of history; it is a living, breathing reality that continues to astonish and change lives today. This power is about receiving new life from Christ, a life that radically alters one's entire being, akin to passing from death to life. This transformation is not merely about adopting a new set of beliefs or behaviors but involves a profound internal change that leaves both the individual and those around them in awe. The essence of this transformation is the new life that Christ imparts, which is characterized by a new heart, a new nature, and a new governing disposition. This change is so profound that it is often described as a miracle, a divine act that only Christ can perform. [12:30]

Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV): "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved."

Reflection: Think of a recent moment when you felt the transformative power of Christ in your life. How did it change your perspective or actions, and how can you continue to nurture this transformation today?


Day 2: True Christianity: A Divine Miracle
The essence of Christianity is not about living a moral life or attending church services; it is about receiving new life from Christ. This transformation is a divine act, a miracle that only Christ can perform, resulting in a new heart and nature. It is not dependent on one's background, intelligence, or natural disposition. Instead, it is a gift from Christ, who has the power to give life to anyone. This new life is mysterious and beyond human understanding because it is supernatural and divine. It is not something we can achieve through our efforts or understanding; it is a gift from Christ. [17:22]

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Reflection: Reflect on an area of your life where you have been trying to change through your own efforts. How can you invite Christ to perform His divine miracle in this area today?


Day 3: The Mystery and Miracle of New Life
This new life is mysterious and beyond human understanding because it is supernatural and divine. It is not something we can achieve through our efforts or understanding; it is a gift from Christ, who has the power to give life to anyone. This is the hope and romance of the gospel: that Christ can give life to anyone who hears His voice and responds. The power to give life is entirely His, and He can bestow it upon anyone, regardless of their past or present condition. This transformation is a miracle that only Christ can perform, resulting in a new heart and nature. [27:19]

Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV): "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Reflection: Consider a person in your life who seems unlikely to change. How can you pray for them today, trusting in the mystery and miracle of Christ's transformative power?


Day 4: Evidence of New Life: Changed Desires
The evidence of this new life is seen in a changed perspective and desires. The things of the world that once captivated us lose their appeal, and we develop a longing for holiness, purity, and fellowship with God's people. We begin to understand and enjoy the Bible, and prayer becomes meaningful. This transformation is not just about external changes but involves a deep internal shift in what we value and desire. It is a sign of the new life that Christ imparts, a life that is characterized by a longing for the things of God. [42:00]

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV): "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Reflection: Identify one worldly desire that has lost its appeal since you began your walk with Christ. How can you cultivate your new desires for holiness and fellowship with God today?


Day 5: Essential for Fellowship with God
This life is essential for fellowship with God and for entering heaven. Without it, we remain in darkness, unable to commune with the God who is light. It is a gift that Christ can bestow upon anyone who hears His voice and responds. This new life is not just about personal transformation but is essential for a relationship with God. It enables us to move from darkness to light, from separation to communion with God. This is the hope and promise of the gospel: that through Christ, we can have fellowship with God and enter into His eternal presence. [46:44]

1 John 1:7 (ESV): "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Reflection: Reflect on your current relationship with God. What is one step you can take today to deepen your fellowship with Him and walk more fully in His light?

Quotes

he when I'm going to exercise this first power of quickening the dead now the thing I want to emphasize is that he reminds these people people and indeed presses it upon them that this work of his is something that is going to fill them with a sense of Marvel and of Wonder and of amazement and of course the gospels are full of that very thing he told them that it would cause them to Marvel and as he went on with his work you see them marveling what did they Marvel at well they marveled at this that he should spend his time with people like public and Sinners [00:09:17]

as he went about and preached and exercised his authority and power men and women who were regarded as completely hopeless and entirely out outside and Beyond The Pale were suddenly being transformed and became new men and women and everybody looked on in Marvel and wonder and amazement and then you remember when you hurry on to the book of The Acts of the Apostles you see the same thing there do you remember what we are told how after that extraordinary event on the day of Pentecost when the Apostle Peter had preached and 3,000 people had been converted [00:10:19]

and then when he had he he and John had healed that lame men at the Gate of the temple you told that the authorities met together and had a conference about this and they were astonished at all this they said who are these men they're ignorant and unlearned men and yet look look is what what's happening they couldn't understand it they marveled he said they would they couldn't understand these things and then take a very notable instance of all this look how they marveled at what happened to Saul of Tarsus there was something that shook them it's indeed even up to a point shook the church herself [00:11:03]

here is the chiefest persecutor of Christianity the men who hated Christ and all his works and everything he'd ever heard about him here is this men suddenly preaching Christ absolutely changed a new men and indeed Paul himself writes to the Galatians and he says you know exactly he says what happened everybody was astonished all they knew was this that the one who had formerly persecuted the church with such Vigor and vehemence was now preaching the faith that he once persecuted and condemned they Marvel what is this here is something that's come into the world that's changing people turning them upside down as it were making new men and women of them [00:11:41]

Marvel and you know this gospel has continued to have that effect throughout the ages and the centuries when this gospel comes in its truth and in its power it does things that amaze and Astound people for what they see is that men would be in Hopeless drunkards if you like and would lost their willpower and had lost everything and were just sheer helpless in the hands of some such terrible sin everything had been tried Psychotherapy training friends everything and everything had failed suddenly such a man through listening to One sermon becomes absolutely free a new men delivered from his besetting sin and the world looks on in Marvel and wonder and amazement [00:12:36]

Now read the life of all the Saints read the stories of all the great religious revivals and reawakenings and that is what you'll always find the world looked on in astonishment at the Protestant Reformation it looked on in amazement at the Puritans it looked on in AST in an astounded manner 200 years ago here in this city of London while a man like George Whitfield would preach on Kennington common and what was regarded as the lowest in society were suddenly transformed they marveled at it what is this they said what is this peculiar thing now that has been its effect throughout the running centuries [00:13:28]

and I'm emphasizing all this because it is a very essential part of this gospel indeed I want to go so far as to say this that when this power of Christ is exercised in any life and given new life the person himself or herself who receives it also Marvels indeed I'll go further and I'll suggest this that if you my dear friend do not Marvel at yourself sometimes I don't think you're a Christian at all our Lord here says explicitly that when he gives life to a soul it causes Marvel and amazement and it does there is none who Marvels more than the individual himself or herself [00:14:15]

I've quoted the Apostle Paul already let me quote him again I always feel that that was exactly what he was saying in the 20th verse of the second chapter of his epistle to the Galatians once more I live yet not but Christ liveth in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me you see it don't you I live yet not I he doesn't understand himself he's marveling at himself Something's Happened he is the same man he isn't the same man Christ has come in the life has entered now that's it [00:15:14]

now this I said has to be emphasized for this reason that there are so many who still think of Christianity in such a way as to exclude altogether this element of Marvel and wonder and amazement they think they're Christians but they don't Marvel at themselves and they don't cause anybody else to Marvel oh they've got an idea you see that Christianity means something like this that you just live a good life you certainly need forgiveness you ask God for it and he gives it you and there it is that's Christianity doing your best living a good life being forgiven when you fail and that's the whole of Christianity [00:16:03]

they think that Christianity is just a question of attending a place of worship now and again and keeping within certain limits and that is Christianity they've always has thought they're Christians there's nothing surprising about it always brought up to do it and they've done it they're not surprised nobody else is surprised but the question is my dear friends is that Christianity and I want to try to show you this evening that it isn't Christianity that is not Christianity that's morality that's religion Christianity means receiving this life from Christ it means becoming a partaker of the divine nature it means that he has quickened us has put into us this vital principle of spiritual being and life which changes everything [00:16:53]

I have already referred to a men like George Whitfield that Mighty preacher and evangelist of 200 years ago perhaps the most eloquent preacher the greatest spiritual aror that England has ever known how did he become a Christian well he tells us himself he was religious he was concerned about God he was trying to live a good life and he thought he was a Christian but his friend whom he' met in Oxford called Charles Wesley gave him the Lear of a book written by a Scotsman of the name of Henry skole and the title of the book was the life of God In The Souls of men and as George Whitfield read this book by Henry skugal he came to the conclusion that he'd never been a Christian at all he knew nothing about the life of God in his own soul [00:17:52]

and he realized that all his religion was a kind of legalism a kind of religiosity that it wasn't the thing that skugal was able to show so clearly was taught in the New Testament by the Lord himself and by the apostles and he saw that he'd never been a Christian and he began to seek this and he eventually found it God gave him this life Christ imparted it to him and he became that flaming evangelist but you notice how he arrived at it it was his discovery that true Christianity means having the life of God in one's own soul that's the thing the Lord is speaking about here verily verily I say unto you the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live [00:18:52]

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Transcript
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